Make it quick..
Enjoy country towns full of street art, drink Prosecco on the Prosecco Trail and discover Australia’s largest wetlands and scale the highest road in Australia, the Great Alpine Road.
Discover the wonders of Victoria’s High Country from Melbourne to Mount Hotham. We would recommend 5 days to complete the road trip which includes a day or two of skiing. Why not make it a week and defeat all of the highest ski slopes in Australia?!
Download our helpful guide on all the tips and tricks to make the most of your time at Mount Hotham Ski Resort!
This Melbourne to Mount Hotham itinerary has been adapted to suit those seeking a luxurious trip or an affordable romantic getaway to Victoria’s high country.
We’ve shared luxe accommodations and the campsites we used throughout most of our roadtrip from Melbourne to Mount Hotham.
There are some pretty stunning free campsites along the river’s edge, which made our budget-friendly road trip feel extra special!
Benalla is a gorgeous country town built around a lake with a variety of great restaurants, shops, an art gallery and an annual street art festival.
Just 3 hours into your road trip from Melbourne to Mount Hotham, Benalla and the surroundings will keep you entertained throughout the day and well into the night!
Relax for the evening and prepare yourself for Day 2 of this Melbourne to Mount Hotham road trip!
Jaycee Island Campground
Although it is not officially for non-contained campers, the location was perfect as the main street is just a few minutes’ walk away.
Alternatively, Benalla Tourist Park or The Comfort Inn Benalla are both great, affordable options for your roadtrip, from Melbourne to Mount Hotham.
Clement House or ‘The Dairy at Marangan’ are two beautifully designed homes a short distance from Benalla’s main town. Clement House offers a free breakfast option and The Dairy is a farmstead which can sleep up to 6 people.
As the largest wetlands in Australia, there are plenty of bike, hike and driving trails to get yourself immersed in nature!
Head to the cafe to pick up the various maps of the wetlands, enjoy one of the shorter walks, the driving art trail and the sculpture trail too.
This is one of two places on this roadtrip from Melbourne to Mount Hotham that we’re sharing from the Australia hidden gems map! These inexpensive maps are integrated into Google Maps and offer a plethora of amazing gems across Australia. Use code “CLOUDWALKS” for a special discount too!
The driving art trail takes you on a journey through beautiful art pieces and info boards about the history of the wetlands. There’s plenty of birdlife to look out for, so binoculars are encouraged.
We also enjoyed a light lunch and a bucket of hot chocolate – not kidding, it was huge! Then, just behind the cafe is a trail of sculptures to discover, some are harder to find than others!
The infamous Ned Kelly is well known in this region of Australia. In fact, some of his family still live in the same town just a short distance from Glenrowan. Awkwardly, they also live alongside the families of the police who arrested him!
In Glenrowan, you will find a plethora of Ned Kelly-themed shops, cafes, a giant statue and a museum of his homestead too. Some of which you’ll need to pay for, but at least stop in for a picture with the giant Ned Kelly. We would say a roadtrip in Australia isn’t complete without seeing something giant! Am I Right?! So, here is the one for Melbourne to Mount Hotham… you’re welcome xoxo.
Arguably, the highlight for today is the not-so-famous-but-should-be-more-famous King Valley Prosecco trail.
A man genuinely named Otto Dal Zotto was the first man to start making Prosecco in Australia! He was originally from the Prosecco regions of Italy and he was missing his ‘wine’ comforts. A number of Italians ended up in this region during the world war, as it was common practice to bundle up people of ‘foreign’ ethnicity together in faraway areas to avoid any unwanted conflict.
Fast forward almost one hundred years, the King Valley is brimming with interconnected Italian families, all specializing in Prosecco and beautiful Italian wines!
Here are our favourite stops on the Prosecco Trail which are open 7 days a week (Sadly, many are not!)
Bonus stops
If you haven’t opted to stay at one of the fabulous accommodations at the Cellar Doors. Here are our recommendations for accommodation in the King Valley. This is your last stop from Melbourne to Mount Hotham!
Edi Cutting Campground – This free campground is just 10 minutes out of King Valley and sits on the riverside. It was lovely camping here with the sounds of the river and the birds singing in the morning.
Enjoy the luxe shipping container suites and dine at Dal Zotto Winery!
Alternatively, if the containers aren’t ready yet, the Glamping Pods at Valley View Caravan Park looked equally as romantic. Why not make this part of the roadtrip from Melbourne to Mount Hotham ‘Worth The Splurge?!’.
It’s just a 2-hour drive from King Valley to Mount Hotham, so if it’s a clear day, we’d recommend enjoying the stunning views of the Great Alpine Road.
We truly hope you are lucky enough to enjoy this incredible drive in clear conditions. Expect to see astounding views of the mountain ranges, snow-topped trees and serene roadside waterfalls.
Our drive up to Mount Hotham was perfect, but our drive down the next day had zero visibility, so let’s hope mama nature is on your side.
We opted to stay at Pegasus Lodge which was in a good location and offered private rooms with a communal kitchen, bathrooms and free laundry too.
Also, the beautiful open fire in the lounge and the free pool table kept us cosy and entertained in the evenings.
Additionally, free breakfast is included; the usual toast, cereals and tea and coffee. A coffee machine is available to use too, just bring your own coffee beans or pods.
We opted to enjoy the food and entertainment at the resort, so we’ll share our food and Apreś recommendations below!
It is possible to stay in a free on-mountain campground. JB Plain Hut Campground and Brandy Creek Mine Picnic Area seem to be the best of the three options we found. Check the comments on Wikicamps and Campermate for vehicle accessibility.
Dinner Plain Resort which is approximately 10 minutes passed Mount Hotham allows dogs to stay on the mountain! So if this sounds ideal for you, the resort looks like a typical European Chalet settlement with a small range of restaurants and pubs to enjoy too. The area was very pretty and worth visiting even if you choose not to stay here.
Mount Hotham Alpine resort offers a free bus service which runs throughout the resort, approx. every 10 minutes.
We had a wonderful experience trying out snowshoeing for the first time. Glen from @traversehotham was an incredible guide. After helping us get comfortable with our snow shoes, he shared some interesting stories about the history of the mountain and the nature surrounding us too. Altogether, we were walking for around 1.5km and were given a mountain top surprise to enjoy whilst watching the sunset!
If you’d like to book this experience, check it out here.
This has to be a top ‘worth the splurge’ experience for us! Getting pulled by beautiful huskies & malamutes on a sledge in the middle of the fresh white snow. We enjoyed this unique experience with Howling Huskys.
They were super helpful and explained everything to us to make us feel comfortable prior to our ride. We also got to give the dogs, who are a mix of rescue and family dogs, plenty of pets and cuddles before and after our ride too!
Mount Hotham Alpine Resort is a favourite amongst those who enjoy Cross Country skiing, with 35 km of free-to-use trails between Hotham and Dinner Plains. This makes for an epic adventure and one which has inspired us to try it ourselves next time!
Did you know Mount Hotham Alpine resort has a spa retreat?! Well, you do now! Why not start your adventure with a relaxing spa treatment? you deserve it after all that driving, street art and Prosecco!
Mount Hotham has some great entertainment for those looking to extend the fun far beyond the ski lifts closing. Here are our favourite after-dark party options…
Enjoy a fantastic dinner at Jack Frost, with a menu consisting of typical Australian fare, Asian fusion dishes and plenty of vegan-friendly options too. Enjoy a main meal of parmas, burgers and curries, or a selection of their tapas-style options, such as jackfruit tacos, corn fritters and miso roasted cauliflower! It took us a while to finally settle on a choice!
If you haven’t been to a silent disco, grab a headset and join in on the fun!
Silent Discos are for all ages, whether you cut up the dance floor, commanding everyone to follow your channel choice or relax at a table, switching music channels as the crowd colours change in waves from Green, Blue and Red. We promise you’ll come away laughing and probably wondering where those 3 hours just disappeared too?! (I know we did).
There are also drink specials from 9 pm on Silent Disco nights which are Thursday and Sunday! It’s always worth popping in for at least a cocktail, as an impromptu birthday party meant they had a silent disco on a Wednesday night during our stay!
The General Store – The main hub for all your Mount Hotham needs, here you’ll find a shop for all your supplies, the post office and the General Store Bar.
They host big parties on the weekend and some Mondays for staff parties too. Check their socials or ask on your way in. This is also the highest pub in Australia too, so enjoy the views from their back balcony and stick around for a beer or coffee.
Of course, we take things slow and make sure we really do all the research so you don’t miss out on anything from Melbourne to Mount Hotham. So we’d highly recommend enjoying the following additional stops either on your way to Mount Hotham or on the way back.
This stunning country town is full of various bakeries, cafes, luxury boutique stores and an olde style sweet shop! We love visiting these old sweet shops and sharing all the sweets that we loved or hated as kids!
The Penang Pumpkin Pie at Gumtree Pies is phenomenal!
We don’t say this lightly, having recently returned from Thailand, this pie really hit differently for us. It’s dairy free but not vegan sadly, as it contains eggs. It’s so worth it though!
If you’re looking for an entirely vegan option, Tiny offer delicious vegan jaffles with all the best plant-based milk options and a vegan hot chocolate too!
Head up to Mount Buffalo with your pies, jaffles & coffees for a little pre-snow mountain view!
Mount Buffalo has a variety of different waterfalls and lookouts to enjoy. Eurabbin Falls had a lovely picnic spot by the falls. We wished we kept our pies to enjoy here!
We also enjoyed the spectacular drive up to the Gorge Day Visitor Area via Rollasons Falls. The Glass Sky Walk & Mount Buffalo Lookout were an easy walk from the gorge car park.
It says you must have snow chains before heading up Mount Buffalo. As it was a beautiful sunny day, we did not need chains.
We do not recommend taking this risk, check your surroundings and make your own decision accordingly. If you are unsure, head to Porepunkah Ski Hire for advice.
Head to the Hump Lookout & Horn Lookout further along the drive. If there is snow, it is possible to also toboggan Mount Buffalo!
Bright is designed to feel a bit like a European chalet village. We loved the cute decor and the wintery weather made it feel like a European Christmas, The Bright Christmas Shop was a great addition too!
There is also a few nice eateries to enjoy here, we personally enjoyed a meal from Katsu Takeaway and a delicious vegan pizza from Hometown. The Hometown pizza is made using homemade vegan cheese which was exceptionally good!
Tomahawks is another loved restaurant in the area, so much so, that we couldn’t get a reservation!
All the restaurants we’ve mentioned have good vegan options available. Wandi Pub was our first choice, A small town pub offering Jackfruit Banh-mi and Vegan Fish and Chips! The opening times are pretty obscure though, so ring ahead and see if they answer beforehand.
Smoko campground is a free campground offering fire pits by the river and lots of space for privacy during your stay. The public toilets in Bright also have hot water, if you need to freshen up.
That’s it for our best stops from Melbourne to Mount Hotham! We hope you enjoy this fab road trip and tag us in anything you share on Instagram using @cloud_walks or #cloud_walks.
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Great blog with loads of info. Looking forward to taking the trip!
Thank you Anno! Most appreciate you reaching out! It’s a big help to get our blogs to reach even further too! :)
Have a safe trip!
All the best,
Sarah & Marlie